From than@wildrockies.org Wed Jun 20 10:24:30 2001 Received: from mxu4.u.washington.edu (mxu4.u.washington.edu [140.142.33.8]) by lists.u.washington.edu (8.11.2+UW01.01/8.11.2+UW01.04) with ESMTP id f5KHOT013242 for ; Wed, 20 Jun 2001 10:24:29 -0700 Received: from wildrockies.org (wildrock.wildrockies.org [206.230.42.162]) by mxu4.u.washington.edu (8.11.2+UW01.01/8.11.2+UW01.04) with ESMTP id f5KHOSs20429 for ; Wed, 20 Jun 2001 10:24:29 -0700 Received: from wildrockies (206.230.42.174) by wildrockies.org with SMTP (Eudora Internet Mail Server 3.0.2) for ; Wed, 20 Jun 2001 11:24:28 -0700 Message-Id: <3.0.5.32.20010620113535.0087c510@mail.wildrockies.org> X-Sender: than@mail.wildrockies.org (Unverified) X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Light Version 3.0.5 (32) Date: Wed, 20 Jun 2001 11:35:35 -0600 To: consbio@u.washington.edu From: Than Hitt Subject: invitation Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" TO: Conservation biologists FROM: Than Hitt, on behalf of the Montana Chapter of the Society for Conservation Biology (MTSCB) DATE: June 20, 2001 RE: Your input needed on post-fire logging project As you may know, last year wildfires burned over 3 million acres in the Northern Rockies, Northern Great Plains, and Great Basin. Although it is understood that fire plays an important role in ecosystem structure and function, we have only begun to grapple with the ecological issues of post-fire treatments. In Montana, a national precedence will soon establish standards for biological monitoring and cumulative effects analysis in post-fire environments with the Bitterroot National Forest's "Burned Area Recovery Draft Environmental Impact Statement" (DEIS). That's why your input in this process is vital. The DEIS proposes logging of up to 279 million board-feet of timber on nearly 80,000 acres. However, the DEIS lacks much of the basic biological monitoring and cumulative effects analyses which are compelled by federal law and common sense. Furthermore, the DEIS contends that post-fire logging is essential for "ecosystem health," despite the prevalence of evidence to the contrary. The Montana Chapter SCB invites you to get involved in the DEIS review. Copies of the DEIS are available by calling the BNF at 406/363-7100 or can be downloaded at www.fs.fed.us/r1/bitterroot/recovery/burn_deis/toc.htm. The comment period ends July 16, 2001. Your comments should be sent to: Craig Bobzien, Acting Deputy Forest Supervisor Bitterroot National Forest, 1801 N. 1st St., Hamilton, MT 59840. cbobzien@fs.fed.us Please email us at scb@selway.umt.edu with questions, information requests, and to coordinate with this review. For more information about MTSCB, visit our web site (www.umt.forestry/mtscb). Thanks for getting involved in this important opportunity to put conservation theory into practice. Regards, Than Hitt Nathaniel P. Hitt Division of Biological Sciences 32 Campus Drive University of Montana Missoula, MT 59812 .